Between the Lines
by Empress-Tigress
Summary: A series of short stories that occurred when you weren't watching. Rated M for violence and rape in two chapters. Not for Light fans.
1. Light

**I. LIGHT **

Misa Amane whimpered pitifully as Light Yagami's fingers dug into the sensitive flesh of her upper arm.

"Light-kun, please," she whispered. "You're hurting me!"

Light's stormy expression never changed as he swiped his key card to the door of his private quarters. Misa wasn't sure what he was planning, but his cold eyes and the determined set of his jaw scared her. She dug her feet into the floor, but her tiny body was dragged into the room anyway. Light slammed the door behind them, still not releasing her. He didn't even give her time to take off her boots, merely repositioning his grip so he was now behind her and pushing her towards his bedroom.

All this time, Light said nothing and let out his breathing in slow, controlled exhalations. This disturbed Misa most of all.

"Light-kun..." Misa's voice took on a higher pitch, as if pleading. Her mind flashed back to the argument they had at the front door of the Kira Task Force Headquarters. She just wanted him to go on a date with her. Just one date. Even if it was just to see a movie together. But Light had insisted they couldn't go out. Their argument got heated and the next thing she knew, Light was dragging her into this bedroom.

In response to her trembling page, Light tossed her towards the bed. She tumbled forward with a cry, catching the foot board with her side. She rose to her knees, holding her injured side and wincing at the bruise already forming. She struggled to get her breath back as Light locked the door and started to unbuckle his belt.

"Light-kun, what are you... doing?" Misa's eyes were transfixed by Light's hands undoing his buckle and sliding his belt out of his belt loops.

Light finally responded as he let the belt drop to the floor. "Why, Misa!" His voice was as comforting and warm as a snake with a baby bird in its coils. "I'm hurt. You wanted me to pay more attention you, right? I'm just giving you exactly what you want."

Misa shook her head as Light's hand strayed to his fly. The look in his eyes was similar to that of Higuchi's in the Ferrari. "No. Not like this! I don't want it like this." Misa winced as she stood, using the footboard as support. She started to slink back towards the door.

Light was too fast for her. He closed the distance between them and grabbed a fistful of her hair. Misa had no choice but to follow as he pulled her towards the bed. She cried out in protest as her back hit the duvet. She pushed on Light's chest as he mounted on top of her.

"_Of course_ you want this, darling!" Light's voice had turned savage, snarling. "You said I could use you in any way I wanted."

"Not like this! Please, Light! Don't!"

Light caught Misa's wrists and pinned them down on the bed. He ground his hips against her crudely and bent his head to her ear.

"But _I_ want it, Misa darling! I want you to be my whore for tonight."

Misa's could feel tears welling as she strained to push Light off her. "Don't do this, Kira-sama. If you ever cared for me..."

Light's faced bent close enough so that Misa could smell his musk cologne. The rough twill of his blazer brushed across her chin as he whispered in her ear. "Say it again." His breath was warm and heavy over her ear lobe. "Say my name again. I want to hear you say it."

"Ki- Kira."

Light chuckled and ground against her hips again, making fully sure she could feel his arousal from the power he had over her. He released Misa's hands and sat up.

"That's better, whore."

Misa started to cry openly as Light's hands moved to undo her bustier. She knew in her heart that Light wouldn't hurt her like this. Not if he really loved her. But she couldn't imagine her life without him. Maybe if she acquiesced this one time...

Light drew his hands away and moved off her. He quickly moved to pick up his belt, looking away from her the entire time. As he slid it into the loops of his trousers, he spit out an instruction to her.

"Clean yourself up and get out. Don't come back until I call you."

Misa opened her mouth to ask him why he stopped. She closed it as she turned and barely caught Rem's off-white form melt into the wall behind her. Slowly, she rose, tightening the laces that Light had loosened. Light unlocked the door and jerked it open for her. As Misa slinked out of his quarters, she dabbed at her eyes and tried to forget what had just happened.

As Misa turned into the hall, she came eye to chest with her otherworldly guardian. Seeing the shinigami towering over her made all her emotions boil over. Misa buried her face in Rem's plated chest, releasing the sobs she was holding back in Light's presence. Rem folded her arms over her charge, careful to avoid poking her with the arms' protrusions. Her long, oversized fingers stroked Misa's blond locks.

"Misa, I know you want Light to love you." Rem's rich tenor voice was measured and calm, in contrast to the tight, protective embrace she held Misa in. "But he has hurt you and I cannot allow that. Allow me to kill him, Misa, so he won't hurt you again."

Misa shook her head against Rem's chest. "No, Rem. He _loves _me. I know he does. He's just... under a lot of stress. That's all. It's... It's my fault for pestering him. I just need to be patient. Once this Kira business is over, I'll make him love me."

Slowly, Misa separated herself from Rem. Her mouth was forming a smile, but Rem couldn't help noticing that the smile did not reach her eyes. As Misa bounced down the hallway, she threw a cheery "thank you" and "goodbye" behind her. Rem found herself fingering her own Death Note, wanting to kill Light now and save Misa from the emotional pain she was sure would come.


	2. L

**II. L **

Ice cream melted slowly in L's mouth as he watched Misa bounce around on the television screen. As he brought another spoonful of his sundae to his mouth, he told himself he was just evaluating her public persona to help with his deductions involving the Kira case. But her name had been cleared weeks ago along with Light's, thanks to the "13-day" rule in the Death Note. If he was perfectly honest with himself, he would realize that he simply liked watching her.

In fact, when he had deduced that Misa was the second Kira, he was hoping that the first Kira was forcing her to kill. And that she would willingly give up information on Kira for protection. But she utterly refused.

As Misa's image winked at him from the screen, L let his spoon drop from his fingers and hung his head. Images of Watari drugging her with sodium pentathol haunted his mind. The memory of her slurred speech struck a dissonant chord with the chirping voice coming from the television's speakers. He covered his eyes when he remembered her long, slender legs shaking as they strained to keep her standing in the restraints that lashed her to the handtruck. He tried to forget her squirming in the straight-jacket to find some kind of relief from the red chaff marks marring her milky neck.

L found himself curling into himself as his memory made its natural progression to Misa's desperate cry for death. Was she screaming for the shinigami to kill her? The original Kira? Or L himself?

As Misa's laughter tinkled through the room, L's scruffy head rested on his knees as he gripped his ankles. He reasoned that torturing Misa was necessary to help draw out Kira. But he still couldn't forgive himself. Not for her pain. Her screams. Or her tears.

At that moment, L picked up the sound of a sniffle behind him. Slowly, he raised his head and looked behind him to see Misa's striped stockings as she walked down the stairs. He remembered that she and Light were having an argument at the entrance and Light had taken her up to his room. He didn't want to see them argue further, so he turned off the surveillance out of respect for their privacy.

Was it a mistake? L unfolded himself out of the chair and padded over to the stairway. As her golden head came into view, he could see her face was slightly reddened and her eyes intently studying the steps below her.

"Misa?" L hunched over and placed a thumb against his lips. "Misa? Are you alright?"

Misa started and looked in L's direction as she finished her descent down the steps. "Oh! Yeah, I'm fine!"

"Did something happen between you and Light?"

"Oh, we just had a silly little fight. That's all. It happens between lovers eventually." Misa's giggle was too quick, too highly pitched to sound natural.

"Want to talk about it? I can be a very good listener." Though he was taller than Misa, L's usual habit of slouching meant he had to angle his head up to look Misa in the eye. He pressed his thumb firmly against his mouth to fight the temptation to smooth out the golden strands hanging in her face.

"No. That's okay. Things will work themselves out."

"Alright then."

L would never know what possessed him to do it. It was like his arms moved of their own volition to wrap themselves around Misa's tiny waist. He placed his head on Misa's lace-covered shoulder, his lips inches away from her ear. He could feel Misa stiffen at the sudden intimacy and caught the slight upward motion of her chin as she sneaked a look back up the stairs.

"But I'm here if you ever do want to talk. And if things don't work out between you and Light, I'll still..." L stopped himself briefly, choosing his words carefully. "...Be here."

Misa's arms wrapped around L's neck and pulled him closer. As L's body pressed against hers, he compared her skin to a strawberry shortcake: sweet like the fruit, soft and pliable like the cake underneath and delicate like the whipped cream that topped it all. His hand moved up to stroke her hair, which smelled like the lilac tree he used to play under as a child. His reverie was broken as Misa buried her face in his shoulder and let out a heaving sob.

"I'm so sorry!" Misa let out a strangled sound as she tried to get enough breath. "I just... just wanted Light to love me! I never meant for it to go this far. Please forgive me!"

"Forgive you for what, Misa? What would you have to apologize over?"

Misa hiccuped, letting L go. Her hands rose to her mouth and her eyes widened. "Um... nothing. Nothing. I'm just... overly emotional."

After a few moments hesitation, she made a show of checking her watch. "Oh, God! Look at the time! I've got an early shoot tomorrow! I've got to go! Bye, L! Thanks for the shoulder!" She planted a butterfly-like kiss on L's cheek and dashed out of the building.

L stood still until he could no longer see her, then brushed his fingertips over where Misa's lips touched him. He moved back over to the control console. For a solid minute, his fingers hovered over the switches as he debated turning on the recorded footage of Light's room. He looked back at the hallway leading outside. He sighed as his hand dropped to his side.

"Let the lovers have their quarrel", he reasoned.


	3. Rem

**III. REM**

Ryuk carefully held his bag of apples against his chest as he sailed over Tokyo. His mouth was already watering at the prospect of devouring his juicy treasures. Who knew that dropping his Death Note into the human realm would work so well in his favor? Misa brought him a new bag of apples every time she went shopping. And, when she had the time, she sometimes even baked some in a pie, just for him.

While the pies were delicious, Ryuk's favorite way to eat apples was to enjoy them raw on the tallest skyscraper in the city while watching the sun set. He wondered if Rem had ever enjoyed the same rewards possessing Misa. She never struck him as much of an apple-eater, but then she was always pretty straight-laced in the shinigami realm.

Oh, speaking of which, there she was! Crouching like a gargoyle at his usual place and staring at the reddened sky.

"Yo, Rem! Fancy meeting you here! Light let you off his leash yet?" Ryuk hyuked at his own lame joke as he landed. Rem did not respond or even break off staring at the horizon.

Ryuk rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Rem. I know you hate Light, but he's not that bad." He fished out a juicy red orb from his bag. "Have an apple."

Rem turned towards her fellow shinigami and took the proffered fruit. She stared at the apple, holding it up against the reddening sky. Ryuk fished another out for himself and merrily munched away.

"Ryuk, I believe the time for me to kill L will come soon. But I fear that it will also mean my death if I kill him."

"Then don't kill him. Problem solved." Ryuk smacked his lips as he fished another apple from his bag and gobbled it up. "Or are you still going to keep that silly promise you made Misa?"

Rem cupped her apple in her hands, as if the apple was Misa's heart-shaped face. "Though it is forbidden, I love Misa and want her to live in happiness. L is an obstacle to that happiness, so he must die."

Ryuk shrugged as he shoved another apple into his fanged maw. "So what are ya gonna do? L's never gonna let up. And the only way you'll know if killing L will extend Misa's lifespan is if you, well, kill L."

"Then if killing L ends my existence, I ask that you promise me something."

"Eh? Not making any guarantees, but what's the promise?"

Rem stroked the claw of her thumb along the apple's contours. "I ask that you protect Misa. I do not ask that you increase her lifespan and thus sacrifice yourself. But if anyone should harm her..."

Bits of apple spewed around Ryuk's teeth as he responded. "You mean Light, don't you?"

"Yes, especially Light. If he ever hurts her, I want you to kill him."

Ryuk thoughtfully chewed on his fifth apple before he answered. "Yeah. I already have to write his name in my notebook anyway, so I can do that. What if you don't die after killing L? What then?"

Rem allowed herself to nibble the apple she held in her hands, savoring the juice as it touched her tongue.

"I'd like one of those pastries Misa makes. With the apples in them.


	4. Ryuk

**IV. RYUK**

"_Dammit!_" Light's epithet bounced off the walls of his hotel suite and caused Misa to cringe over her Death Note. Ryuk looked up from his position on the floor to watch Light's outburst, which was becoming more common as of late. It was more entertaining than the bland reality show he was watching on the television, at any rate.

"What is it, Light?" Misa finished writing the name she was on before turning her attention to her lover.

Light ripped his headphones off and slammed them down on the table. "They found the pieces of the missile, but not the Death Note."

Misa remembered L's would-be successor, Mello, had kidnapped Light's younger sister, Seiyuu, in an elaborate plan to obtain one of the Death Notes. They had put the Death Note on a guided missile to prevent it from being tracked by radar. There was no telling where the Death Note was now.

"Well, at least Seiyuu is okay now. Isn't that worth something?"

"Shut up, Misa."

Misa threw down her pen and rose up. She mentally processed her outburst simmering under the surface and refined it into something more palatable. "Hey! Is that any way to talk to the love of your life?" She crossed over to Light to sit beside him. Trapping his arm in both of hers, she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"You know... I finished writing the names for today. You need to something to take your mind off things for a while." She pressed closer to him, making sure he was aware of her breasts enclosing his elbow.

Light merely stared into space sulking. Misa pouted and started to protest before he finally responded. "You're right, dear. I do."

Light turned quickly on her and half-pinned her to the couch with his hips. He crushed his lips against Misa's while slipping his hand under her skirt. His fingers tucked into the waistband of her panties and started to yank down. Misa placed a hand on his wrist to stop him.

"Light, that's not what I meant! I was thinking going out to dinner or..."

Misa's protest was swallowed up by another demanding kiss. Light's tongue forced itself into Misa's mouth, tasting her muffled squeals. He tugged down demandingly on the fabric, trying to force her hips up to slip them off her hips. Misa dug her hips into the couch cushions and kept her legs close together to deny him.

"Nnnn.... Liiiiihggg... ssssnnnoooop..." Misa squirmed, pulling her legs up between them. Once Light's position was unbalanced, she pushed him off. She sat up properly and gave him a ringing slap across the face, leaving a red image of her tiny handprint.

Ryuk's chortled at Misa's rejection. "Guess there are some limits to what she'll do for him, after all", he thought to himself.

The laughter spurred Light on. Before Misa could stomp off, he returned the blow, backhanding Misa across the jaw and spinning her into the floor. Again he was on her, this time pulling her panties down over her hips before pinning her down to the rough carpet. The bruise already forming her jaw caused his manhood to stir.

Light placed his hands on her throat to cut off her scream. Her panicked pulse against his fingers excited him further. As he started undoing his fly, he leaned in close to her ear, giving her throat an experimental squeeze. Her white hands flew to his, trying to pry it off her.

"Who do you think you are, Misa? Who are you to deny your god?" The voice was low in his throat. As he pushed his pants down to free his manhood, Misa's tears started.

"Why are you crying, little girl? I'm just giving you the honor of serving me." Light flipped up Misa's skirt and separated her legs with his knee. He continued to taunt her, relishing her tears and choked pleas as he positioned himself to enter her. If she got too loud, he merely tightened his grip on her throat to silence her.

The act was nothing like Misa fantasized it would be. The gentle caresses on her throat were slowly choking her as Light got more excited. The foreplay she imagined made her feel like a used tissue. Her soft, luxurious bed was rubbing her bare bottom raw. Her sweet nothings was pleading with Light not to hurt her. She just wanted this over with.

The first thrust was dry and rough, causing Misa to let out a choked sob. She as vaguely aware of Ryuk's giant pointed boots moving in her line of vision and thought she heard the "scritch, scritch" of him scratching his head. As Light continued thrusting rudely into her, Misa closed her eyes and tried to stifle her cries of pain. She tried to pretend she was somewhere else and the man she loved wasn't doing this to her...

Light choking Misa in earnest brought her back to reality. She opened her mouth, trying to get air into her throat. She rolled her eyes back to Ryuk standing over them, self-consciously rubbing the back of his neck and looking away from the scene.

"Look at me, whore!"

"Come on, Light. Don't you think that's enough?"

Ryuk's question surprised both Light and Misa. They both looked up at the 8-foot-tall shinigami slouched over and fidgeting with his spiked hair. Misa remembered that he did that when she reunited with him and tried to hug him.

"What's the matter, Ryuk?" Light's voice had a reptilian quality to it. A smile slithered over his face as he thrust roughly into Misa and got another squeal of pain from her. "You want to stop me? Be the knight in shining armor for little Misa-Misa?"

Ryuk looked over his shoulder at Light's feral expression, which dared him to say something else. Then at Misa's tearful eyes looking up at him imploringly. He had never been comfortable with girls. That was why he phased out when Misa hugged him after he returned to human realm. Even that small physical contact filled him with embarrassment. This scene before him went far beyond that and left him at a loss of what to do with himself.

He knew about sex, sure. Shinigami didn't make love, but sometimes they liked to watch humans do it from their realm. But while his fellow shinigami pointed and laughed at the absurd faces humans made during coitus and joked about their techniques, he always found himself mortified that he was even watching. Girls' bodies were just... _strange_ to him.

And here were Light and Misa. The entire episode had occurred before he could leave the room to give them privacy. But Misa was clearly not enjoying it as girls usually do. Girls didn't usually cry like that if they enjoyed it. And Light was deriving some kind of sick pleasure from both Misa's pain and Ryuk's discomfort.

Wait: Light was hurting her. The one thing Rem feared for Misa.

Ryuk's long fingers brushed his Death Note as he remembered his promise to Rem. While she was stupid for allowing herself to fall in love with a human, she still was a decent shinigami that didn't deserve to be put in a trap like what Light put her in. He looked back at Light and Misa and their lifespans were clearly visible to him. While severely shortened due to trading three-quarters of her lifespan for the shinigami eyes, Misa's lifespan was nowhere near its end.

"You know, Light." Ryuk's eyes turned red as he contemplated keeping his promise. "You've really been ticking me off lately. Bossing me around, treating me like a pet... Maybe I should just kill you right now and have it over with."

Misa's strangled gasp stopped Ryuk from continuing his threat. He turned fully around to see Light's hands tight around Misa's throat. Light ignored Misa's hands clawing at his tightening fingers, her lace-covered legs kicking out and her reddening face as she fought for air. He stared straight at Ryuk, daring him to continue.

"Go on, Ryuk. Kill me. Save Misa." A smirk was on Light's lips.

Ryuk looked back down at Misa's lifespan, which was suddenly fuzzy and unreadable to him. Was Light serious about killing Misa right there in front of him? Would killing Light extend Misa's lifespan? Ryuk's hand flexed by his Death Note as he debated on what to do next.

Before Ryuk decided, Light released Misa's throat and pulled out of her. As Misa gasped and spluttered on the floor, Light tucked his shirt back into his pants and re-buttoned his fly.

"Both of you. Get out. I have to figure out a way to get back the stolen Death Note and don't want either of you distracting me."

Ryuk followed Misa as she retrieved her handbag and shoes. They said nothing as they walked out of the hotel and to a nearby park. There, Misa turned to Ryuk, buried her face in his leather-clad chest and shook all over as she sobbed openly. Ryuk found himself putting his arms around the tiny human, instead of phasing out.


	5. Apples

**V. APPLES**

Ryuk stared down at the human realm. A sea of numbers and names floated below him, telling Ryuk all he needed to know to take a life. He crouched down and pulled out his notebook and pen. As he opened the notebook to the last page, his eyes fell upon the last name he wrote in it: Light Yagami.

Ryuk couldn't stop the sneer as it formed on his face. He recalled with crystalline clarity Light bleeding to death from his gunshot wounds, screaming for someone to help him. He called for Ryuk, who wasn't going to sacrifice his own life to save him. Then Mikami, who had just committed suicide for failing to kill Light's enemies. Then Takada, who Light had killed with the Death Note to save himself. Then Misa, who had long ago relinquished her Death Note at his request and lost all memory of having owned it.

And when Light finally realized that he was utterly alone and beyond all help, he cried like small child that lost his favorite toy.

All that killing.

All that plotting.

All that grandiose talk about ruling the world as its god.

And there he was: The great Kira writhing in agony as blood pooled around him. Crying and whimpering pathetically in a dirty stairwell of an abandoned warehouse. Ryuk knew that Light would most likely not succeed in his designs, but he had thought that Light would have been a bit more gallant about his defeat. Even now, he was searching his pockets, desperately trying to find the scrap of the Death Note he dropped and muttering "Nate River", Near's real name, over and over.

It was then that he decided to write down Light's name. The end of the ride was a let-down, but it was fun all around...

A thought occurred to Ryuk, and he shifted the focus of the vortex to a small apartment in the heart of Tokyo. Clippings of newspaper stories about Kira cults covered every inch of the walls. A week's worth of dirty dishes piled high in the sink. A dingy sheet covered the futon and laundry was scattered all over the floor. Flies buzzed around half-eaten take-out and mostly empty wine bottles.

Under the sheet, a body stirred. Misa reflected the state of her apartment, with her pinched, paper-thin face and limp, unwashed hair. She wore one of Light's old dress shirts, which was two sizes too big on her. She rolled over and curled up into a ball, clutching a picture frame to her chest.

"Light," she murmured, "Why did you leave me all alone?"

Ryuk shook his head. It seemed that killing Light killed her as well. After the funeral, she went to work less and less, eventually stopping altogether. After a while, she stopped even leaving her apartment, only contacting the outside world to order take-out when she remembered to eat and to pick up a newspaper to add clippings to her Kira collection.

Ryuk noticed the pill bottles scattered on the floor around the futon and yet more wine bottles. He had seen this before. Eventually, she would drug or drink herself to death. And the human world would remember her as just another casualty of the modeling world. And, if her lifespan was any indication, it would occur sooner than later.

Misa deserved a happier fate. She deserved better than someone that sniveled and wailed for a shinigami to save him from the hell he brought upon himself. Why did she pine over a guy like that? Why would she destroy herself over someone that never loved her?

Ryuk looked down at his Death Note and turned to a clean page. Methodically, he wrote "Misa Amane" on the first line.

He followed with: "February 14, 2011. Heart attack. Forgets her boyfriend and enjoys what's left of her life. The heart attack occurs while she sleeps and she dies without pain."

That date seemed appropriate. Many humans associated it with love. As an afterthought, he added that she would buy herself some apples before she died.

She deserved apples.


End file.
